‘2001: A Space Odyssey’: the movie Tom Hanks has seen “about 120 times”
There’s a certain rewatchability to Tom Hanks films. Whether it’s the familiarity of his face, the warmth of his voice, or the quality of his projects and collaborators, there’s something comforting about his presence on-screen. From childhood favourites to Christmas reruns, Hanks’ catalogue is filled to the brim with dependable entertainment.
Since making his debut feature in 1980, Hanks has become a consistent presence on our cinema screens and television sets. He delivered one of the most iconic and beloved voice-acting performances of all time as Woody in the Toy Story series, helmed the signature survival film Cast Away, and won an Academy Award for his role as the titular Forrest Gump.
Whether it’s for their nostalgia-inducing qualities or their enduring entertainment factor, Hanks’ catalogue is full of films you’ve probably seen five times over and would even jump at the chance to watch again. They’re easy picks to resort to if you find yourself scrolling through streaming sites aimlessly, unlike one of Hanks’ most-rewatched movies.
Though family favourites and classic entertainment characterise his own work, one of Hanks’ favourite films is the sprawling and surreal 2001: A Space Odyssey. Speaking with Collider, the beloved actor shared his admiration for the masterpiece, alongside Fargo and The Best Years of Our Lives, noting that he has seen 2001 “about 120 times, or something like that.”
It’s an impressive number of rewatches to have afforded the Stanley Kubrick sci-fi classic, which is far less comfortable and easy-watching than most of Hanks’ projects. Released in 1968, the film showed off some particularly advanced special effects in its quest to portray space exploration on-screen.
In between the spectacle of Discovery One and outer space, Kubrick discusses evolution and extraterritoriality. Widely considered to be one of the greatest sci-fi works of all time, if not one of the greatest films of all time, it’s no surprise that 2001 makes Hanks’ list. It’s a little surprising, however, that the movie differs so much from his own work and that he has rewatched it so many times.
2001 is a heavy watch, slow and spacious, and not a film most would fancy revisiting any more than once a year. For Hanks, though, the movie clearly had the same rewatchability factor most of us find in his own catalogue.
Hanks’ own ventures into the world of sci-fi have remained fairly limited despite his love for 2001: A Space Odyssey. He has tried his hand at the world of on-screen space exploration, taking on a role in Ron Howard’s 1995 film Apollo 13, but the movie was much more based in reality than Kubrick’s. Rather than delving into alien life, it followed real-life attempts to explore other worlds.
Since then, Hanks has dipped his toes into sci-fi, working with the Wachowskis on Cloud Atlas, but he’s yet to land a genre classic quite like 2001. Perhaps he’s more suited to those heartfelt dramas and family movies we know and love, while sci-fi should be reserved for his own watching habits.
Still, with how many rewatches he’s given the Stanley Kubrick movie it would be interesting to see him take on a sci-fi of similar scope to bring his familiar presence to outer space.
Revisit the trailer for Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey below.
